Rotary plane



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Aug. 4, W31 A. u. KERNs M ROTARY PLANE Filed April 23, 1950 '1 TNESSES J I INVEIJTOR:

'. TTORNEYS.

Patented Aug. 4, 1931 PATENT OFFICE ADIN U". KERNS, F ALTOONA, PENNSYLVANIA ROTARY PLANE Application filed April 23,

My invention relates to rotary planes and more particularly to a type of plane adapted for such use as the smoothing of worn or splintered floors, such as old boX car floors.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a rotary plane, characterized by simplicity of construction, a minimum of weight and of parts, and especially adapted .to be tilted to various angles so that rough spots in the surface to be planed may be smoothed without having to plane down a large area uniformly.

The following examples illustrate some of the variety of uses to which the rotary plane of this invention is particularly suited.

Where a flooring board with hard grain edges has become worn at the center, forming a rough trough-shaped surface running longitudinally with the board, by tilting the plane slightly and feeding it lengthwise of the board, theboard may be planed out to a slightly concave depression, removing the splintered surface and leaving a comparatively smooth surface upon which flour bags,

for example, may be drawn across without damage.

Where one floor board has a rough edge projecting above an adjacent board, the rough edge may be planed'down to the level of the adjacent board by holding the plane head with its bottom face substantially horizontal and feeding it lengthwise of the board.

Where a new board is to be applied to an old board worn to a considerable depth, the edges of the new board may be planed down to meet the surface of the old board by turning the rotary plane slightly on edge and running along the edges of the new board,

thus bevelling it down to correspond with 4D" the worn surface of the old board.

Where a lining has large slivers broken out or partly broken out, the head of the plane may be turned to about an angle of thirty degrees, permitting the cutters to groove a shallow concave trough running with the broken sliver, which trough may be finished to a comparatively smooth surface.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of one embodiment thereof which 1930. Serial No. 446,481.

is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Of the drawings:

Fig. I is a perspective view of a complete rotary plane embodying my invention.

Fig. 11 is a side view of the plane head showing a portion of the driving shaft and its surrounding casing.

Fig. III is a bottom view of the plane head.

Fig. IV is a top view of the plane head with a substantial portion broken away.

Fig. V is a cross-sectional view of the plane head taken along the lines VV of Fig. III; and,

Fig. VI is a perspective view of a cutter.

lVith particular reference to Fig. I, there is shown a pneumatically operated motor 1 (which forms no part of this invention) having a hand grip 2 with a trigger 3 for setting in motion the means for controlling the starting and stopping of the motor 1, and having a driving shaft or spindle l surrounded by a non-rotating casing 5. The hollow casing 5 is of sufiicient length to form a convenient hand grip for the hand of the operator not already engaged, and the casing 5 is at one end secured to the motor casing by a series of bolts 6, and at the other end it is flanged at 7 to fit without engagement in the top of the plane head 8.

The plane head 8 comprises a one-piece block of cylindrical outline having at its top an annular raised portion 9 adapted for attachment to the driving shaft 4 by means of circular plates 10 and washers 11, 12, the

plates 10 being secured to the plane head 8 byscrews 13 and being secured to the driving shaft 4 by means of a bolt let and nut 15 thereon. To give access to the nut 15 in order to affix the plane head 8 to the driving shaft 4, the block comprising the plane head is centrally bored at 16 to a diameter considerably larger than that of the nut 15.

Disposedwithin the plane head 8 and forming an integral part thereof, are a pair of inclined cutter seats 17 leading to a similar number of rectangular openings 18 in the bottom face 19 of the plane head. The openings 18 are so arranged that the cutting edges of the cutters 20 project through the bottom face 19 of the plane head so as to extend across the flat bottom face to the rounded outer rim 21.

At each side thereof the plane head 8 is cut away throughout the intermediate portion between the top and bottom faces to form comparatively large recesses 22 giving access to the cutters and permitting the free disposal from the plane head of the shavings resulting from planing.

The cutters 20 are slotted at 23 and are adjustably secured to the seats 17 by. means of bolts 24 and nuts 25, the bolt heads fitting in circular recesses 26 in the bottom of the plane head 8, and the nuts 25 being readily accessible for turning, by reason of the size of the recesses 22 in the sides of the plane head 8. The cutters 20 are preferably adjusted so that their cutting edges will project through the bottom face 19 of the plane head to such a depth that the cutters will in effect function as planer bits when the plane is rotated in a clock-wise direction.

Inasmuch as the cutters are held at an angle of about thirty degrees from the bottom face of the plane head, the cutters 20 may be sharpened to cut equally well with the grain or across the grain of the wood to be planed. In an obvious manner the cutters 20 may be adjusted to compensate for the wearing away of the cutting edges when the same are sharpened by grinding. At the outside corner each cutter 20 is provided with a rounded edge 27 corresponding in contour with the rim 21 of the bottom face 19 of the plane head 8. Accordingly by tilting the head over slightly a board worn hollow and rough in the center may be smoothed to form a slightly concave trough without planing down a large surface of the floor.

To protect the outside edges 27 of the cutters and to prevent injury to articles coming in contact with the side of the plane head 8, there is provided a guard 28 in the form of an annular strip of metal which may be brazed or welded or otherwise attached to the side of the plane head directly above its: outer rim 21.

In the embodiment of the invention herein described the plane head 8 comprises a onepiece block in which the cutter seats are formed integrally with the block, and the only attachments consist of the guard 28, the cutters 20, the means for securing the cutters to the seats and the means for securing the block to the driving shaft 4. It may be found more convenient to insert cutter seats 17 of the form illustrated in the drawings as separate parts rather than to form the seats 17 as an integral part of the head 8, but I formthe bottom face 19, the top portion 29 including the annular ring 9 and the intermediate body 30 as a single piece with obvious advantages, including a saving in weight, a reduction in the number of parts, and strength in proportion to size.

While I have described my invention by reference to one embodiment thereof, it will be apparent that various changes in the form of the rotary plane herein described may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the claims hereto appended.

Having thus described my claim:

1. A rotary plane including a plane head comprising topjand bottom circular faces and an intermediate portion forming therewith a one-piece block of cylindrical outline, said top face being adapted for attachment to a rotating member, said bottom face having openings permitting the passage of cutters therethrough, and said intermediate portion being cut away to provide within the interior of the block inclined cutter seats leading to the openings in the bottom face.

2. A rotary plane including a plane head invention, I

comprising a one-piece. block of cylindrical outline having top and bottom circular faces and a central bore, said top face being adapted for attachment to a rotating member, said bottom face having openings permitting the passage of cutters therethrough, and an in termediate portion cut away to provide within the interior of the block inclined cutter seats leading to the bottom face.

3. A rotary plane including a plane head comprising top and bottom circular faces and an intermediate portion forming therewith a one-piece block of cylindrical outline, said bottom face having openings therein and a rounded rim, and said intermediate portion being cut away to provide within the interior of the block cutter seats leading to the openings in the bottom face, and cutters housed within said block having their outside corners rounded and extended to therim of said bottom face whereby they may be effectively used for planing with the plane head tilted about said rim.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name at Altoona, Pennsylvania, this 17 day of April 1930.

ADIN U. KERNS. 

